A first type of road safety barrier is known, also called the guardrail type, made of metal and comprising a plurality of metal uprights, normally arranged at a constant distance from each other and fixed into the ground, on which an undulating metal sheet is fixed, with an open section, which extends longitudinally with respect to the roadway. A guardrail-type road safety barrier has good structural elasticity which, in the event of an accident, allows high absorption of the shock and an adequate deformation of the barrier itself; however, it is deficient in preventing a passage to the other carriageway when the angle of impact is greater than a certain value. Another disadvantage of this type of barrier is that the open profile metal sheet represents a cutting element that can prove to be very dangerous for people involved in the accident, particularly for motor cyclists.
A second type of road safety barrier is known called the “New Jersey”, to identify the particular profile of the modular elements of which it is composed. These modular elements are made either of concrete, or comprise a shaped skirt made of sheet metal of the box-like type, and are coupled together on the sides and anchored to the roadway so as to form a substantially continuous barrier. At the base of the barrier, the “New Jersey” profile provides an inclined surface, converging from the top downwards towards the roadway; if surmounted by the tires of a vehicle, it promotes the return of the vehicle towards the inside of the carriageway, preventing it from hitting the upper part of the barrier, and from crossing into the other carriageway.
In the metal embodiment, the “New Jersey” barrier has constructional disadvantages due to the difficulty of making a large-size box-like structure, and difficulties in transport. Moreover, the skirts attached directly to the ground, which constitute each of the modular elements, have the disadvantage that they do not possess great rigidity against forces of torsion and flexion applied thereon, due to their mainly vertical development and due to the lack of resistant elements which oppose the forces of impact which act with at least a component orthogonal to the part of the skirt that faces towards the roadway.
One purpose of the present invention is to achieve a road barrier that has safety characteristics typical of the “New Jersey” type barriers, and also structural elasticity, resistance to torsion and flexion and resistance to loads similar to those of guardrail-type barriers.
Another purpose of the present invention is to achieve a road barrier of the “New Jersey” type which is easy to install and transfer, and on which maintenance and interventions can easily be made.
Another purpose of the present invention is to achieve an attachment device which allows to obtain greater elasticity in the connection between the uprights of the road barrier and the attachment base, and a greater capacity of absorbing shocks, reducing the risk of the vehicles leaving the road in the event of an accident.
The Applicant has devised, tested and embodied the present invention to overcome the shortcomings of the state of the art and to obtain these and other purposes and advantages.